“I came here last weekend for your opening, waited hours. My friend and I left and we were both like, ‘So worth it. We’d do it again.’”
“I’m obsessed with your store.”
“I live up the street. I was like — YES!”
“I’m here on my lunch break. You’ll probably see me again for other lunch breaks.”
“If you need anything, I’m two blocks down.”
This wasn’t some ticketed author event or fan meetup. This was just a Friday afternoon at Lovestruck in Seattle — Seattle’s first and only brick-and-mortar romance book and gift shop. And this was Day 6 of business.
The woman behind the counter — beaming, a tad flustered, looking a little shellshocked, still somehow greeting every customer warmly — is McKenna Martin, owner of Palm Creative and the very proud founder of Lovestruck.
“I’m still kind of in shock,” she admitted, talking to me between helping customers. “I mean, I kind of had an idea but I [am] just overwhelmed with how crazy it was.”
Let’s talk about it. Lovestruck in Seattle sits on Lake City Way, open through October 26 as part of the Seattle Restored program. The store is small, bright, bursting with pink, and buzzing with people. It carries everything from indie sapphic slow-burns to spicy fantasy paperbacks, alongside Martin’s handmade bookmarks, sweatshirts, tumblers, Kindle inserts, stickers, candles — you name it.
Every non-book item? She made it herself.
“Palm Creative is all me. I design everything and make it all in my apartment,” she said.
The shop opened July 13. Martin got the keys on July 1.
“Their program [Seattle Restored] is that you have to open in two weeks,” Martin said. It was the holiday week, she had already booked (and paid) to be at Redmond’s Derby Days. So everything basically came together in one week.
The chaos paid off. Her grand opening? Absolutely bananas.
“I posted a poll, the week before, ‘who’s coming?’” she said. “At first it was like 100 people, then midweek it was 200. And then the night before, it was 500. I was like, ‘oh we’re not ready.'”
The line started at 8:30 a.m. and didn’t stop until close. More than 350 people made purchases, and many bought multiple books. Some came back the next day. Some brought friends. A book club formed with strangers, waiting in line. One person sent her flowers. Another offered to work the counter — paid or unpaid. Another small biz owner popped in to pitch a partnership.
“I mean, I knew it’s a popular thing [romance books],” said Martin. “But also, there’s lots of other bookstores in Seattle, so I didn’t know if this one would be hyped. Seeing the response, I literally didn’t know what to think.”
And that’s the thing. Lovestruck isn’t reacting to a trend. It’s filling a gap. Typically, the romance and fantasy genre is kinda judged and looked down upon. Lots of eye rolls, and jokes about “smut” (Martin has a whole line of products for this, by the way). If you’re a fan, you’ve likely known the shame of lingering in the Barnes and Noble Fantasy aisle, getting looks from the dude in Historical NonFiction. Putting another book cover on your romance novel to read it on the plane.
Martin noticed the void.
“Sometimes we need to have spaces for people that aren’t getting them,” she said. “Feeling like you’re a part of something, and getting to come into a space and everyone enjoys the same thing as you, and no one’s gonna judge your purchase.”
Inside Lovestruck, there’s absolutely no judging. There’s no shame. There’s just the pure, unfiltered joy of loving what you love. Customers walk in grinning — like they’re stepping into a secret club where the password is “the enemies to lovers trope” and everyone has opinions on whether Nesta should have gotten her own trilogy.
“Times are hard. Life is hard, and everything’s kinda sad,” said Martin. “So I think having a community and space you can come to to have a little moment […] it’s kind of a space you don’t get to walk into often.”
Her own reading journey started like many Millennials: with Twilight. She’s a self-proclaimed romantasy girl at heart. “Last year, I was reading so much. I literally brought a Kindle for downtime at markets, because when I had a book, sometimes people got very nosy.”
But opening a store changed her habits. “It does feel a little pressure, I’m more fantasy-based. I need to start reading more contemporary and other genres.” Right now, she’s reading queer-focused Honeywitch, and next up is her first Western fantasy.
To figure out what to stock, Martin turned to BookTok, blogs, Goodreads, and publisher previews. She also made space for titles she just had a good feeling about. “I wanted a mix. Some super popular stuff. Some lesser-known gems. And we’re building out our indie and local author section, too — that’s really important to me.”
“I’m trying to find a good mix of things people want to find, mainstream, and under the radar. We’re really trying to grow our local section; we’re going to have a whole shelf. It’s important, and people want to support it.”
Even with a carefully curated mix, opening day wiped out nearly all her inventory.
“Mostly every single person who came in bought something,” said Martin. “At the end, it was mostly empty. There were certain books that were left, the main ones that people already had. So like, literally ACOTAR was left. Fourth Wing.”
As for what’s next? Martin’s launching a Kickstarter on Aug. 1 to help fund a permanent location.
“Our goal is to get a permanent space. We need to make it happen. We really want a space that’s big enough to accommodate the community, be able to have better events, more book signings, and do little pop-up markets. Just be a fun place to visit.”
Honestly, it already feels like that. In the time I spent browsing, at least four people told her they’d be back. Everyone bought at least one book and several gifts. Someone brought her flowers (aside from the person who sent her some opening day). One woman said, “I’m obsessed with your store!”
If opening week is any indication, the demand is there — and then some. It’s not every day you see a line down the block for romance novels. But then again, it’s not every day someone creates a space this joyful, this intentional, and this unbothered by the idea that loving something — whether it’s a fantasy series or a spicy paperback — is anything to hide.
Martin’s Romance Rundown: Hot Takes & Fan Faves
‘Twilight’
“Breaking Dawn is trash. There was so much weird stuff happening, and then the shift of POV was weird. Hot take? New Moon. I liked the struggle, I like that they broke up, and it was depressing. I think it was important to have that. I was hoping for a longer struggle to get back together.” Note: She is Team Edward, for the record.
‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’
“Iconic, because it’s the gateway to get to other books. When you go back, there’s problems and there’s things you pick up. But when I first read it, I was like ‘Oh, I love it.’ It’s not my favorite in her collection. I feel like that’s Throne of Glass for me, Crescent City. It’s the gateway though.”
‘Fourth Wing’
“I think it’s fun! I know a lot of people didn’t like Onyx Storm, I thought it was great. The last one reminds me a lot of the Vampire Academy series. I like Xaden and Violet. I think they’re a better couple than Feyre and Rhysand.”
Follow Lovestruck in Seattle for more!
Lovestruck in Seattle is open through Oct. 26, 2025 at 12315 Lake City Way NE in Seattle. Hours are Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.